What’s selling right now in Los Gatos? The Los Gatos real estate market tends to have warmer and cooler pockets. (Please also see The Real Estate Market Trends in Los Gatos .) At the moment, almost anything listed for saleunder $2 million in Los Gatos 95030 and 95032, as long as it’s appropriately priced, staged, and marketed, is selling in under a month – and about half of those that sell do so in about 10 days. The Los Gatos luxury home market is not quite so on fire, though. As the price rises, so does the “days on market”.
Here’s a quick view of the 95030 median list price by quartile (4 pricing tiers). All levels have had some movement, but it’s most dramatic in the highest priced homes.
Next, let’s check out Los Gatos 95032, also for the median list price of houses for sale – same situation here with the most irregular movements happening in the top part of the pricing segments.
The Los Gatos real estate market cooled a bit in July after having a little improvement in the market in June. Sales fell 19.5% from the month before (up 13.8% year-over-year).
Prices slipped in July 2010 with the median sales price for Los Gatos houses dipping 1.6% from the previous month (up 7.0% compared to last year). The average price fell 1.2% in July, a yearly gain of 1.5%. The low point of the market appears to have been in 2009, so anyone waiting for the best prices in Los Gatos may have missed that point already.
Inventory fell 2.3% from last month, and was down 5% year-over-year.
Here are the numbers at a glance for houses in Los Gatos:
Trends At a Glance
Jul 2010
Previous Month
Year-over Year
Median Price
$1,230,000
$1,250,000 (-1.6%)
$1,150,000 (+7.0%)
Average Price
$1,332,280
$1,348,340 (-1.2%)
$1,312,410 (+1.5%)
No. of Sales
33
41 (-19.5%)
29 (+13.8%)
Pending Properties
53
62 (-14.5%)
36 (+47.2%)
Active
157
153 (+2.6%)
185 (-15.1%)
Sale vs. List Price
98.8%
96.8% (+2.1%)
96.1% (+2.8%)
Days on Market
36
47 (-21.8%)
62 (-41.7%)
For the Los Gatos condo market, it’s been rougher.
Sales fell 9.1% from the month before, and were up 25.0% year-over-year.
Prices slipped in Jul 2010 with the median price dipping 9.1% from the previous month, up 12.4% compared to last year. The average price fell 1.8%, a yearly gain of 15.1%.
Inventory fell 8.3% from last month, and was down 16.7% year-over-year
And the numbers at a glance for condos:
Trends At a Glance
Jul 2010
Previous Month
Year-over Year
Median Price
$582,000
$640,000 (-9.1%)
$518,000 (+12.4%)
Average Price
$615,345
$626,625 (-1.8%)
$534,806 (+15.1%)
No. of Sales
10
11 (-9.1%)
8 (+25.0%)
Pending Properties
5
8 (-37.5%)
13 (-61.5%)
Active
50
52 (-3.8%)
53 (-5.7%)
Sale vs. List Price
96.0%
97.3% (-1.3%)
99.2% (-3.2%)
Days on Market
80
109 (-26.6%)
86 (-6.5%)
Here are some countywide facts on the real estate market:
The number of sales fell 6.6% from the month before, and were down 22.7% year-over-year.
Prices slipped in Jul 2010 with the median price dipping 1.1% from the previous month, up 9.5% compared to last year. The average price rose 2.4%, a yearly gain of 13.8%. (Condo prices slipped more, in the 2-4% range.) 2009 appears to have been the bottom of the market.
Inventory rose 0.9% from last month, and was down 13.5% year-over-year.
The list price to sales price ratio slipped slightly but is close to 100% – so we are seeing lower list prices as well as lower sales prices.
Please visit my comprehensive on-line report for Santa Clara County, which includes market data by city and area within the county (for instance, the market for houses or condos in Cambrian, Willow Glen, Almaden, Monte Sereno, Saratoga etc.).
You can read the full report here: http://popehandy.rereport.com , you may have to cut and paste this address into your browser address bar, or, you can just Click here.
In general, the Santa Clara County real estate market cooled a bit in June with rising inventory and less demand by home buyers, but in Los Gatos it improved very slightly, while in Monte Sereno it worsened. Below please find a summary from my Real Estate Report (which you can check out for more information on these areas as well as Saratoga, Almaden Valley, Cambrian Park, Campbell, etc.( Links for each section will take you to the referenced part of the REReport. You may also read a downloadable, 4 page pdf with more articles about the local realty market here.
The Los Gatos median sales price inched up both year over year and month over month. (So more expensive homes are starting to sell.) The average sales price of these houses improved significantly year over year (25%) but fell almost 5% month over month. Closed and pending sales are both up and inventory is down 15% from a year ago and about 3% from last month. The list price to sales price ratio fell a little and the days on market stayed close to the same from a month ago. All in all, it is close to a balanced market for houses in Los Gatos according to the Real Estate Report.
Want more info? I also have a weekly report from Altos Research (uses list prices, not sales prices). Altos breaks it down by zip code and the files below are pdfs:
The Los Gatos condo & townhome market also improved in June. Although it is still a buyer’s market, it is creeping its way toward balanced with improving sales prices (both median and average), more closed sales and shrinking days on the market.
If you’d like a little more info on the Los Gatos Condominium & Townhouse Market, please also see these reports from Altos Research, which breaks down the info by zip code (and uses list prices):
Monte Sereno has no townhomes or condos, so our market report is reflective only of houses (and estates).
Trends At a Glance
Jun 2010
Previous Month
Year-over Year
Median Price
$2,387,500
$1,632,500 (+46.2%)
$1,510,000 (+58.1%)
Average Price
$2,387,500
$1,677,500 (+42.3%)
$1,510,000 (+58.1%)
No. of Sales
2
6 (-66.7%)
1 (+100.0%)
Pending Properties
7
5 (+40.0%)
6 (+16.7%)
Active
39
34 (+14.7%)
30 (+30.0%)
Sale vs. List Price
100.7%
99.3% (+1.5%)
98.8% (+2.0%)
Days on Market
46
71 (-35.5%)
8 (+475.0%)
Sales prices are rising and the number of sales have increased while days on market have decreased. But with 39 houses for sale in Monte Sereno and just 2 closed in June, that’s a lot more inventory than demand and reflects 19.5 months of inventory. The rising number of pendings indicates that things are improving, and hopefully will help to counteract the also rising number of homes on the market. Buyers: this is a good time, generally, to purchase a home in Monte Sereno!
This area includes both portions in Santa Clara County & Santa Cruz County.
Trends At a Glance
Jun 2010
Previous Month
Year-over Year
Median Price
$762,875
$802,000 (-4.9%)
$720,000 (+6.0%)
Average Price
$709,993
$844,146 (-15.9%)
$823,000 (-13.7%)
No. of Sales
10
12 (-16.7%)
5 (+100.0%)
Pending Properties
6
13 (-53.8%)
7 (-14.3%)
Active
52
43 (+20.9%)
35 (+48.6%)
Sale vs. List Price
95.3%
95.7% (-0.4%)
92.5% (+3.1%)
Days on Market
70
81 (-14.6%)
200 (-65.2%)
To get all of the data for every city in Santa Clara County and the major districts in San Jose, please check out my current ReReport online. Additionally, you can check out listing & sales activity in your own neighborhood (see what’s happening on our MLS) by inputting any address in the county on the REReport’s Property Analysis page. (It loads a little slowly so please be patient.) There’s no registration required for any of this useful information.
Our local market consists of many micro-markets, often varying from one zip code, price point, or school district to another. Please contact me if you would like information on your specific market.
The Los Gatos real estate market is a moving target. How’s it today? It depends on which part of the data you study. Days on the market are longer, but prices are up, sales are up, and inventory is down.
Los Gatos Houses
Los Gatos homes sold and Los Gatos homes for sale: first note that inventory is way down (from 200 a year ago to 134 now), the number of pending houses is up (from 11 to 51) and the medial sales price is up (though the average is down) year over year. Are homes still slipping in value, or are they appreciating? The answer to that question depends on a home’s particular location, price point, school district, and other factors. Some homes are still going down in value, but others are rising. The days on market are longer, from 32 DOM to 52. A lot of indicators are “UP” but it’s still not really easy to sell a Los Gatos home today. With 134 actives and just 25 solds, that’s a 5.36 months supply of inventory – close to “balanced”. With 51 pendings vs 134 actives, it looks like the odds of selling are about 38% in any given month right now.
Trends At a Glance
Oct 2009
Previous Month
Year-over Year
Median Price
$1,110,000
$1,187,500 (-6.5%)
$975,000 (+13.8%)
Average Price
$1,182,290
$1,152,560 (+2.6%)
$1,465,810 (-19.3%)
No. of Sales
25
22 (+13.6%)
15 (+66.7%)
Pending Properties
51
47 (+8.5%)
11 (+363.6%)
Active
134
143 (-6.3%)
200 (-33.0%)
Sale vs. List Price
96.2%
97.4% (-1.3%)
96.7% (-0.5%)
Days on Market
52
43 (+22.8%)
32 (+64.6%)
To see more data on the single family home sales for October, please see my RE Report for that part of the market.
Los Gatos Condominiums and Townhouses
The Los Gatos townhome and condominium real estate market is likewise better in many ways. The number of sales is up year over year (9 to 11), pendings are up (5 to 18) and inventory is down from 48 to 37. Days on the market are longer though, from 33 to 99. So again some mixed indicators. There’s a shift toward more of a sellers market with the months supply of inventory now at 3.36 months. Condos and townhomes overall are selling much better than they were a year ago in terms of pricing (up substantially over a year ago, though down from last month). Buyers are more willing to buy now, probably due to fantastic interest rates and perhaps also some of the great first time homebuyer perks such as the $8000 credit.
Trends At a Glance
Oct 2009
Previous Month
Year-over Year
Median Price
$644,000
$741,500 (-13.1%)
$555,000 (+16.0%)
Average Price
$652,136
$752,833 (-13.4%)
$594,222 (+9.7%)
No. of Sales
11
6 (+83.3%)
9 (+22.2%)
Pending Properties
18
15 (+20.0%)
5 (+260.0%)
Active
37
39 (-5.1%)
48 (-22.9%)
Sale vs. List Price
97.1%
99.5% (-2.5%)
97.6% (-0.5%)
Days on Market
99
46 (+116.2%)
33 (+201.4%)
And to get more details on the Los Gatos condo market, please see my RE Report page with that data.
There are many ways of viewing the Los Gatos real estate market. One approach includes looking at the homes which are currently for sale, or the “active listings”. Altos Research, to which I subscribe, uses this data in analyzing the state of things for the realty market in various cities, towns, and zip codes. Today we’ll look at these active listings in all Los Gatos zip codes, both single family homes and condominiums, and view the data by price quartile whenever the trends seem quite divergent from one price point to the next.
Los Gatos Real Estate Pricing for Single Family Homes by Zip Code
First, let’s look at Los Gatos houses in the 95030 area. We’ll begin by viewing list prices by quartile.
Except for the highest priced homes, it seems that asking prices are close to flat in this part of Los Gatos. It doesn’t appear to be a market crash when these numbers are viewed.
Next, let’s see how prices are looking in 95032 among single family homes in Los Gatos:
Again, it’s fairly close to flat pricing now (after clear declines earlier this year) except in the most expensive homes, which really constitute the luxury or estate market, which looks to be having steeper declines. The luxury market in both 95032 and 95030 appears to be hurting the most.
And finally, the same type of data but for the Los Gatos Mountains (zip code 95033 – this is a broad area which is not actually in the Town of Los Gatos but instead is county area).
Interestingly, the luxury homes in the mountains seem to be holding their own better than those “in town”. It appears that all price points in the mountains are doing approximately the same in this realm.
Los Gatos Real Estate Pricing for Condos and Townhomes by Zip Code
The Silicon Valley condominium and townhouse market is often a little different than the market for single family homes, and this is true in Los Gatos as well as in much of San Jose. Below, please note the more chaotic path that pricing has taken in the Los Gatos condo market this year:
And oddly, much different in 95032:
Although these two Los Gatos zip codes are quite different from each other, both have been seeing some rises from a low spot earlier this year. The 95030 prices are higher than they were at the beginning of the year in all quartiles. The 95032 prices are higher for the most expensive condos but lower for the bottom two quartiles. I believe that this is because of school districts – the lowest priced condos (except for The Commons, a senior condominium complex) are most all in the Campbell Union High School District rather than in the Los Gatos – Saratoga High School District. (All of 95030 is in the Los Gatos schools area, and perhaps half of 95032 is in the same district and half is in CUHSD instead.)
Inventory of Los Gatos Homes for Sale
Inventory of Los Gatos homes has been rising in most segments of the market. (There are no townhouses or condominiums in the 95033 zip code.)
The lowest priced condos in the 95030 part of Los Gatos seem to be getting absorbed decently – inventory has barely risen there at all this year.
Days on Market for Los Gatos Homes for Sale – All Zip Codes
Los Gatos Houses in 95030:
Los Gatos Houses in 95032 are seeing declines in the average days on market:
And for condos and townhomes in Los Gatos, 95030, it looks bizarre, with lots of volatility and large ups and downs (not unlike the stock market of late):
Lastly, Los Gatos days on market for condos in 95032:
So what can we say of the general trends in Los Gatos homes for sale? For most Los Gatos homes:
inventory is rising
days on market are rising
the condo market was faring worse earlier this year, but is improving now
the single family home market has been sliding this year, but overall, it has not been steep
How does this compare to nearby areas? The “median market action index” combines the key factors to come up with a market pulse (higher is in the sellers favor, and lower is in the buyers favor). If we look at just single family homes in the two Los Gatos areas plus Saratoga (95070) and the Almaden Valley area of San Jose (95120), it looks like “we’re all in the same boat”:
The two Los Gatos zip codes are now in the same place. San Jose is doing a little better and Saratoga better still. But the general trends for almost all nearby Silicon Valley real estate markets is a deepening buyers market.
Please call or email me if you’d like to discuss your particular situation.
For many homesellers in Los Gatos (and Silicon Valley generally), and for their Realtors, the real estate market is extremely challenging right now. Buyers have been wary for many months already, but now they’re concerned about a recession and job losses, not just the possibility of a real estate sales price that won’t hold its value later. It is a deepening buyers market overall, but especially within the market for single family homes.
So what is happening with Los Gatos home sales?
Inventory is rising among single family homes and condos and townhomes. Right now there are 197 single family homes for sale (it was over 200 last week) and 44 condominiums or townhomes. A year ago, it was 113 houses and 23 condos. A month ago it was 184 SFH and 45 condos, and a year ago October it was 104 SFH and 22 condos.
Sales were down in October. We had a surge of sales in September, but then the meltdown on Wall Street happened and buyers put on the brakes. In Oct 2007 there were 12 condos closed, but in Oct 2008 just 9 (and with far more inventory). In Oct 2007 there were 17 houses closed, but in Oct 2008 just 13 (and again, more inventory).
The real estate market in Los Gatos is mixed, depending on the type of housing (house, townhouse, mulit family dwelling, mobile home or other), the price point (entry level vs luxury), zip code, school district, and more. Of the 13 homes that closed last month, 3 were over $3 million. Surprisingly, 5 were under $1 million. Most often, the vast majority of sales is between $1 million and $2 mil or $2,5 mil, but the middle seems to be shrinking now. It’s a strange phenomena! Low priced homes are being bought because, I believe, buyers can “get into Los Gatos” at great prices. The luxury home market is often independent of financing, so those homes are still selling fairly well (despite the loss of stock value in Google and Apple) for now. The middle price range, which often represents move-up buyers who do need at least some financing, appears to be the most impacted market right now.
Condos vs Houses: Which Are Selling Better in Los Gatos?
The Los Gatos condo market, which was really struggling earlier this year, has been improving since May. The Los Gatos single family home market, though, is the opposite: it has been worsening steadily since May. The condo market is very small compared to the single family home market, though, so the overall picture is a deepening of the buyers market in Los Gatos.
Below, please find a bar graph that makes these trends clear:
The Los Gatos real estate market is made up of many micromarkets. For information on your particular home buying or home selling needs in Los Gatos, please contact me today.
Several of my buyers have recently decided to hold off until things calm down with the economy. So I wondered if this was widespread or not. Tonight I checked the sales in Los Gatos (zips 95030 and 95032) for the period of 10/1 – 10/25 this year and last year. Sales are slower than last month but still ahead of last year, generally.
Among single family homes in Los Gatos, there have been 15 homes that went sale pending in that time frame this year, wheras there were 8 last year. For condos and townhomes it was 4 this year and 5 last year – close enough to not be significant in my opinion.
Right now, it does not look terribly bad. Sales are mostly ahead of last year at this same time. That said, we’ll know more when ALL the factors are in – price points, list price to sales price ratio, days on market, etc.
